Watching the Paralympics on Channel 9, I often find myself exclaiming, “Holy shit, they are doing that!” or “Wow, that’s amazing!” The athletes’ ability to smash through barriers and perform at such a high level is truly awe-inspiring. Wheelchair rugby, in particular, caught my attention—it’s intense, fast-paced, and completely nuts in the best way possible! There is a short doco on Stan about the Aussie team which explains a bit of the rules which are pretty cool. The skills involved in blind sports like soccer and javelin are mind-blowing. As someone who always wants to understand how things work and why they began, I decided to dive deeper into the Origins of Paralympic Sports these sports and explore how athletes with different disabilities are categorized for competition.
The Fascinating Origins of the Paralympic Games
The Paralympics originated from a small event organised to help rehabilitate soldiers injured during World War II. In 1948, Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a British neurosurgeon, organised the Stoke Mandeville Games for 16 injured servicemen and women with spinal cord injuries at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. This event, which featured wheelchair archery, laid the foundation for what would eventually become the Paralympic Games.
By 1960, the first official Paralympic Games were held in Rome, Italy, with 400 athletes from 23 countries participating. The Paralympics have since evolved into a major international sporting event, showcasing the incredible athletic abilities of people with disabilities.
The Origins of Specific Paralympic Sports
Many of the sports in the Paralympics have unique and fascinating origin stories, often developed out of necessity, creativity, and the desire to make sports accessible for people with disabilities. Here are some of the most interesting ones:
Wheelchair Basketball
Origin: Wheelchair basketball originated in the United States in the mid-1940s, initially played by injured World War II veterans as a form of rehabilitation. The sport was adapted from traditional basketball to be played in wheelchairs, allowing those with lower-limb disabilities to participate. The sport quickly grew in popularity, becoming one of the most prominent and competitive sports in the Paralympics.
The first wheelchair basketball game is often credited to a group of paraplegic veterans at a Veterans Administration hospital in California in 1946. By the early 1950s, the sport had spread internationally, with teams forming in Europe and other parts of the world.
Goalball
Origin: Goalball was invented in 1946 by Austrian Hanz Lorenzen and German Sepp Reindle as a way to help rehabilitate blinded war veterans. The game is specifically designed for athletes with visual impairments and involves teams of three attempting to throw a ball with bells inside it into the opposing team’s goal.
Unlike many other sports, goalball is not adapted from an existing sport but was created specifically for visually impaired athletes. The game relies heavily on auditory skills, and all players wear blindfolds to ensure an even playing field, regardless of the degree of visual impairment.
Boccia
Origin: Boccia has its roots in ancient Greece, where a similar game was played using stones. The modern version was adapted in the 1980s as a sport for athletes with severe physical disabilities affecting motor skills, such as cerebral palsy.
Boccia is one of the few Paralympic sports that has no counterpart in the Olympics. It is a precision ball sport, somewhat similar to bocce or pétanque, where athletes must throw leather balls as close as possible to a target ball (the “jack”).
Sitting Volleyball
Origin: Sitting volleyball evolved from traditional volleyball and was introduced as a competitive sport for disabled athletes in the Netherlands in the 1950s. It was initially designed for war veterans and civilians with physical impairments who still wanted to enjoy volleyball’s fast-paced nature.
Sitting volleyball follows similar rules to standing volleyball but with a few key adaptations, such as a lower net and a smaller court. The sport became part of the Paralympic Games in 1980.
Paralympic Archery
Origin: Archery was one of the original sports at the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948, making it one of the oldest Paralympic sports. It was initially included as a rehabilitation activity for injured soldiers, helping them improve their motor skills and concentration.
Paralympic archery is open to athletes with various disabilities, including those with limb loss or impairment and spinal cord injuries. The sport is nearly identical to Olympic archery but allows for specific equipment adaptations, such as wheelchairs or modified bows.
Para Ice Hockey (formerly Sledge Hockey)
Origin: Para ice hockey was invented in Sweden in the early 1960s by a group of Swedes who wanted to continue playing hockey despite their physical disabilities. They created sledges with skate blades and used shortened hockey sticks with spikes on one end to propel themselves across the ice.
Para ice hockey quickly became popular in Europe and North America, and it was introduced to the Paralympic Games in 1994. The sport is known for its speed, physicality, and intense competition, similar to able-bodied ice hockey. Will have to check the winter Paralympics for this one.
Wheelchair Rugby (Murderball)
Origin: Wheelchair rugby, originally known as “Murderball,” was developed in Canada in 1977 by a group of quadriplegic athletes who wanted an alternative to wheelchair basketball. The sport combines elements of rugby, basketball, and handball, creating a fast-paced, full-contact game.
Wheelchair rugby was included in the Paralympic Games for the first time in 2000. It is one of the few Paralympic sports that allows full contact, making it one of the most aggressive and thrilling events in the Games. Check out the doco on 9 Beyond The Dream: Forged in Steel
Para Equestrian (Dressage)
Origin: Para equestrian dressage traces its roots back to the 1970s in Scandinavia and the UK. Originally, it was used as a form of therapy for people with physical disabilities, known as hippotherapy. The rhythmic motion of the horse was found to help improve balance, muscle tone, and coordination in riders with disabilities.
Interesting Fact: Para equestrian dressage became a competitive sport over time, with rules adapted to accommodate various disabilities. It was introduced to the Paralympics in 1996. Riders compete based on their classification, and the sport emphasizes the connection between horse and rider, showcasing harmony and skill.
Para Swimming
Origin: Para swimming has its origins in rehabilitation programs for injured war veterans, similar to many other Paralympic sports. It was first introduced as a competitive sport for people with disabilities in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
The sport quickly became one of the most popular and inclusive Paralympic sports, with categories for athletes with a wide range of disabilities, including visual impairments, amputations, and cerebral palsy. Para swimming was one of the original sports in the first official Paralympics in 1960.
Wheelchair Fencing
Origin: Wheelchair fencing was introduced in the 1950s by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the same pioneer behind the Stoke Mandeville Games. The sport was adapted from traditional fencing to allow athletes with physical disabilities, particularly those using wheelchairs, to compete. The wheelchairs are fixed in place, and athletes use upper-body strength and skill to duel.
Wheelchair fencing has been part of the Paralympic Games since the first official event in Rome in 1960. The sport requires a high level of precision, speed, and strategy, and it remains one of the most dynamic Paralympic sports.
Para Table Tennis
Origin: Para table tennis has roots similar to able-bodied table tennis, with adaptations made for athletes with disabilities. It became popular in rehabilitation centers after World War II, where it was used as a form of therapy for injured veterans. The sport was quickly adopted by the international disabled sports community.
Para table tennis was one of the original sports in the 1960 Paralympic Games and has remained a staple ever since. The sport is open to athletes with a wide range of physical disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs and those with limb impairments.
Blind Football (5-a-side Football)
Origin: Blind football, or 5-a-side football, was adapted from traditional football for athletes with visual impairments. The sport began in schools for the blind in Spain and Brazil in the 1920s and 1930s, where students would play football with balls that made noise when moved.
The sport officially became part of the Paralympic program in 2004. In blind football, all outfield players wear blindfolds to ensure fairness, while the goalkeeper is sighted. The game is played with a ball containing rattling devices, and players rely heavily on their sense of hearing and spatial awareness.
Para Rowing
Origin: Para rowing was introduced relatively recently compared to other Paralympic sports. It was officially included in the Paralympic Games in 2008. The sport was developed to allow athletes with physical and visual impairments to participate in competitive rowing.
Interesting Fact: Para rowing features mixed-gender teams and includes events for single sculls, double sculls, and coxed four boats. The sport requires significant teamwork, strength, and endurance, similar to its Olympic counterpart.
Para Powerlifting
Origin: Para powerlifting evolved from weightlifting and was introduced as a competitive sport for athletes with disabilities in the 1960s. It was initially included as part of the Paralympic Games in 1964 under the title “weightlifting” and later renamed “powerlifting” to reflect its focus on the bench press.
Interesting Fact: Para powerlifting is one of the most inclusive Paralympic sports, with athletes competing in weight categories rather than by disability classification. The sport is open to athletes with a range of disabilities, including amputations and cerebral palsy, and focuses on the bench press, where athletes lift as much weight as possible in three attempts.
Other Paralympic Sports
While I’ve touched on a few of the interesting origin stories, the Paralympics feature a wide variety of sports, each with its own unique history. Sports like para swimming, para alpine skiing, boccia, para table tennis, and para powerlifting are just a few examples of how these competitions have been adapted to showcase the incredible skills and determination of athletes with disabilities.
How Athletes are Categorised in the Paralympics
Along with the Origins of Paralympic Sports one of the key aspects of the Paralympics is the classification system, which ensures that athletes compete on a level playing field. Athletes are classified based on the type and extent of their disabilities, allowing those with similar levels of function to compete against one another. The classification system is divided into categories such as:
- Physical Impairments: These include limb deficiency, impaired muscle power, impaired range of movement, and others.
- Visual Impairments: Athletes with varying degrees of vision loss, from partially sighted to fully blind, are grouped in this category.
- Intellectual Impairments: This category includes athletes with intellectual disabilities, where limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour affect performance.
Each sport has its specific classification criteria, which are designed to minimise the impact of athletes’ impairments on the outcome of the competition, ensuring that success is determined by skill, fitness, power, endurance, tactical ability, and mental focus.
Conclusion
The Paralympic Games and the sports within them are a testament to human resilience, creativity, and the unyielding spirit of competition. Understanding the origins of Paralympic Sports and how athletes are classified provides deeper insight into the incredible feats we witness during the Paralympics. As I continue to watch these athletes break barriers and redefine what’s possible, I’m reminded of how much there is to learn and admire in this extraordinary event.
If anyone knows any athletes, I would love to chat with them on our podcast. Please contact me if you are able to connect
